Smoking and Oral Health

Smoking and the use of other types of tobacco products won’t just have a negative impact on your overall health – they can cause a host of oral and dental problems, everything from ugly stained yellow teeth, to throat cancer.

Let’s take a closer look at the hazards of tobacco use and how you can lower your risk of developing serious oral health issues.

Esthetics

We’ll discuss esthetics first, because this one is a no brainer. Let’s face it, most of us are somewhat vain. We care, sometimes a little bit too much, about how we look. One quick look through a magazine will provide page after page of big bright white smiles looking back at us (see what our Vancouver dentists can do to whiten your teeth!). We’ll never know for sure if the owners of those beautiful smiles are smokers, but if they are, they’ve obviously spent a lot of time and money bleaching the ugly yellow stains from their teeth, and in many cases, paying the heavy cost of veneers to cover up the damage they’ve caused to their teeth.

Staining

Smoking or chewing tobacco will deposit an ugly yellow film on tooth enamel. This is caused by the tar and nicotine contained in tobacco products. Left untreated, this staining can turn to brown and become permanent. As noted in another article, damage to tooth enamel is permanent – you cannot re-grow tooth enamel. So the longer it is subjected to the harsh chemicals and stains that result from tobacco use, the harder and more expensive it will be to correct.

Nobody wants to see yellow teeth when they’re looking at the pages of a magazine, so why would they choose to see it when they look in the mirror?

Bad Breath

Have you ever been up close and personal with a smoker? If you have, you’ll understand the term ‘ashtray breath’. Smokers just have bad breath, plain and simple. As with staining, the reason is that a person who uses tobacco products is basically filling their mouth with nasty chemicals that aren’t meant to be in the mouth. Mix the odors caused by tobacco with the fact that the person probably also has tobacco-related gum disease and tooth decay, and then throw in potential food-related bad breath.

There’s just nothing sexy or attractive about yellow teeth and bad breath! So if for no other reason than vanity, throw away the tobacco!

Plaque and Tartar

Along with stains, studies show that the teeth of smokers are at much higher risk of developing hard plaque (tartar). Because of the film of chemicals that tobacco products leave on the teeth and gums, bacteria that might normally be washed away by the normal process of salivation, are likelier to adhere to the teeth and gums, causing a hard buildup that is very difficult to remove.

Gum Health and Tooth Loss

Using tobacco products can double or triple your risk of developing periodontal gum disease. Healthy gums are integral to keeping your teeth healthy, and in fact, keeping your teeth in your mouth! If your gums are subjected to the repeated chemical assault of tobacco products, they will weaken and become more and more prone to bacterial infection. And if you continue to use tobacco while you have gum disease, you are literally preventing the ability for your gums to heal and recover.

Along with the fact that tobacco greatly raises the risk of developing tartar, gum disease is almost always an eventuality.

As noted above, damage to tooth enamel is permanent. And if you also have tobacco-related gum disease, it’s a perfect recipe for tooth loss. As your gums become weaker and more infected, the infection can spread to the bones and tooth sockets. Once this happens, teeth really have nothing healthy or stable to anchor to, and the result is that teeth will eventually loosen and fall out.

Oral and Other Cancers

Tobacco products contain so many dangerous chemicals, that when used regularly, the risk of developing some type of cancer of the mouth is much higher. In fact some studies prove that the risk is three times higher in smokers than in non-smokers.

Some of the more common types of oral cancers that are seen in tobacco users include the following:

• Throat cancer
• Cancer of the tongue
• Salivary cancer (cancer of the glands that produce saliva)

Along with a higher risk of oral cancers, studies show that tobacco users also have a much higher risk of developing other types of cancers throughout the body. Some studies show a link between smoking and cancer of the bladder, and of course the most obvious – lung cancer. Regardless, if you develop any type of cancer due to the use of tobacco products, it can spread to anywhere in your body.

Reducing Your Risk

Obviously the first step you can take to reduce your risk of suffering the negative effects of tobacco products, is to stop using them! Studies show that each year that passes that you are tobacco free, your risk is greatly reduced, and in many cases, you can return to the good health you experienced prior to beginning the use of tobacco products.

If you simply cannot quit cold turkey, try to gradually reduce your use of tobacco products. It’s not easy, but it can be done. And while you are working on reducing your use, there are some extra steps you can take to help take care of your teeth and gums:

• Take extra time to brush, floss and rinse
• Chew sugar free gum with whiteners to help remove the film that tobacco products deposit on your teeth and gums
• Use a strong mouthwash several times daily to help kill bacteria
• Use a toothpaste made specifically for smokers
• Use a stiff-bristled toothbrush to help brush away the hard stains left by tobacco chemicals
• Avoid eating foods high in acid – your teeth and gums are already at risk of breakdown, and eating acidic foods can exacerbate this problem

And finally, see your Vancouver dentist for regular checkups! Early detection of dental issues and oral cancers is key to treating them!

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